Today's nominee for "Headline of the Year"

Last year, after Michele Bachmann launched a smear campaign against Hillary Clinton’s aide Huma Abedin and alleged that there had been “deep penetration” by the Muslim Brotherhood in high levels of government, People For the American Way launched a campaign to get Bachmann kicked out of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. On the Intelligence Committee, she has special access to sensitive national security information, which probably shouldn’t be in the hands of a fear-mongering conspiracy theorist. But this week, Bachmann announced that she had been reassigned to the Intelligence Committee, despite the protests.

There’s something distressingly oxymoronic about Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) being reappointed to the House Intelligence Committee. Thankfully, this can be filed under “Intelligence Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means”…and that’s true in a couple of different ways. Of course, the Intelligence committee isn’t about intellectual candlepower, a quality Bachmann sorely lacks. That “intelligence” in this case has to do with geopolitical political and military considerations doesn’t make Bachmann any more fit to serve. During the last Congress, she used her position to toss all manner of hateful, unfounded accusation at Muslims, which only served to display this astonishing breadth and depth of her ignorance and xenophobia.

Yep, EXACTLY the sort of rational, principled statesman we need on the House Intelligence Committee.

As far as I can divine, Bachmann’s role on the Intelligence Committee is two-fold:

By serving as a lightning rod on the Intelligence Committee, Bachmann serves to deflect attention from other Republicans. Mission Accomplished, I suppose…can you tell me who the other Republican members are? I know; I can’t, either.

Bachmann has been tasked by Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to float trial balloons for some of the “crazier” ideas and/or accusations House Republicans may want to employ. With a well-deserved reputation as a RWNJ, Bachmann excels in this role. If something blows up upon release…ah, well, that just’s Bachmann being the unmedicated uber-Jesus-y RWNJ she’s always been, right?

Then again, Bachmann serving on the Intelligence Committee makes about as much sense as me running for President of the NRA.

And you wonder why Congress is less popular than Nickelback and cockroaches….